Author: newtonpens

February !

UPDATE:  And we have a winner!  #10.
Thanks everybody!  After this, the scholarship is up to $1,613.08 USD.

It’s time for another !  😀

This one will end Thursday, 7th March.

Pen up is a large size blue/white marbled ebonite.

blue 6
blue 4

Winner gets choice of nib tip.  Any size with any grind.

 

I’m official now too!  I’m going to give the scholarship one of two ways: through the school or through a charitable organization that specializes in these types of things.

So if all that sounds good then you can buy as many as you want payable through paypal to newtonpensscholarships@gmail.com.  Be sure not to send payment to my other paypal account.

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know and I’ll get back with you asap.
This purchase is not tax deductible.

Thanks.
Shawn

 

More pics….

001 002 003 004 006

Buffalo Horn

So a customer asked me a few months ago if I would be willing to work with buffalo horn for a pen he wanted.  I had never worked with it – and instead of just buying some and playing around with it – I asked around and did some reading – and everything I found said it cracked horribly after being turned.  Maybe not for a few days, but usually, and more often then not, it would crack.

Then I read about a pen on fountainpennetwork, made by Hakase Pen Company in Japan, from water buffalo horn.  Beautiful!  So instead of asking others who have WORKED with it, I started asking folks who own pens made from it.  So far, even after years, no cracks, but that’s with fairly thick barrel and cap walls and with an ebonite section.  Sounds good.  So I ordered some and it came in today.  I had to go play with it.

After shopping around on the internet with my wife for new bathroom vanities – oh man that was uh, fun 😉 – I broke away and got into the shop for a few minutes.  I made only the barrel, the section is from a different pen, for the photos. It still needs a good buffing, maybe go over the back of the barrel again, but WOW this was great to work with.  It turned almost as nicely as some ebonites I’ve worked with.  I could feel the vein, or grain, whatever you want to call it, so it had a bit of a bump or rough spot, but it still turned really nicely.  It was a bit stiff taking the internal threads, but putting the outside threads on was painless.

I wish the pictures were better – but it’s late and I’m tired.  Check it out.  😉

Oh, and the fuzzy stuff on the threads is tiny bits of paper towel after wiping water off.

2012 in review – and ready for the tax man…

Well, I hope I’m ready for the tax man.

I spent very nearly the entire day going through every receipt, invoice, bank statement, and expense note I could find, adding up all my expenses and income from the year.  I’m very glad to say that I made a little profit – I can say it was very nice being able to make auto repairs and pay for daycare.  😉

I made right at 170 pens in 2012.  Not too bad.  I can’t wait to see how many I make in 2013.  Here’s to the new year and I hope to keep growing!  😀

Thanks everybody.

Drawing!

Update: 1 Jan 2013
And the winner was #3!  🙂  Thanks everybody!

I think it’s time for another .

This time things will be a bit different.  I don’t have any pens made up to offer, so this one will be a full custom .  Any acrylic or ebonite I have in stock, c/c, button, or bulb filler.
Any nib size or grind.  Clip or clipless.

The pen will be made as soon as the is over so no waiting in line.

 

So if all that sounds good then you can buy as many as you want payable through paypal to [email protected] and I’ll add a number to the bottom of this post so everybody can see where we’re at with it.  I’ll pick a winner on New Year’s Eve, we’ll talk about specifics, shape, size, and so on, and I’ll get it made and out in the mail as soon as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns please let me know and I’ll get back with you asap.

Thanks.
Shawn

35 so far.  🙂